Lee Westwood had every reason to pack light for the Match Play Championship in Marana, Ariz. He never made it out of the second round in his 11 previous trips to this tournament, and he never could understand why.

Now it seems as if Westwood can do no wrong.

He has led after 48 of the 49 holes he has played through three rounds at Dove Mountain, barely breaking a sweat under the blazing sun in the high desert. And he erased more bad memories Friday with a 3-and-2 victory over Nick Watney, who had eliminated Westwood each of the last two years.

“You want to come out and get momentum as quickly as possible,” said Westwood, who birdied the opening two holes for the second straight match. “And the only way to do that is by winning holes.”

Now, Westwood is two matches away from a shot at his first World Golf Championship, and a return to No. 1 in the world.

But he’s not alone.

Rory McIlroy also can go to No. 1 in the world for the first time in his young career by winning the Match Play Championship. He also had an easy time, winning on the 17th hole over Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Westwood and McIlroy are on track to face each other Sunday morning in the semifinals. The battle for No. 1 — made possible by Luke Donald losing in the opening round — put some interest into an otherwise dull afternoon at Dove Mountain.

None of the matches went the distance until the final last one, when Bae Sang-moon missed a 6-foot putt on the 17th hole, only to finish off John Senden with a par putt from about the same distance on the 18th hole.

Westwood next plays Martin Laird, who won the battle of Scotland by taking down former British Open champion Paul Lawrie, 3 and 1.

Next up for McIlroy is Bae, the South Korean surprise in his first Match Play Championship.

In other matches:

• Hunter Mahan took advantage of some mental lapses by Steve Stricker to build a big lead and held on for a 4-and-3 win. Mahan will play Matt Kuchar, a 4-and-3 winner against Martin Kaymer, a finalist last year at Dove Mountain. That assures there will be an American in the semifinals at the Match Play for the first time since 2009.

• One year after Mark Wilson was drubbed in the second round by big-hitting Bubba Watson, he overwhelmed another power player by beating Dustin Johnson for the second straight year. Johnson was too wild too often and couldn’t make putts, a bad combination in match play. Wilson will play Peter Hanson of Sweden, who dismantled Brandt Snedeker during a quiet, effective march to the quarterfinals.

Elsewhere

Daniel Summerhays birdied the final hole for a 6-under 65 and a share of the second-round lead with Will Claxton and Greg Owen in the wind-swept Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

• Katie Futcher and Jenny Shin shot 5-under 67s in the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore to join first-round leader Angela Stanford at the top of the leaderboard.